In recognition of his leadership
and commitment to raising aviation safety in Africa and his
outstanding achievements in aviation, Dr. Harold Demuren, the
Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, has been
presented with the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award by Flight
Safety Foundation (FSF) at its annual International Air Safety
Seminar (IASS) in Milan, Italy. The laurel is to further drive
optimum performance and reward excellence in the aviation
sector.
"I don't think we can adequately describe the enormous amount of
work Harold has done 
in his efforts to raise the level of aviation in
Nigeria," notes FSF President and CEO, Mr. William R. Voss. "Harold
demands professionalism, honesty, integrity and discipline in the
conduct of aviation business in Nigeria. We are honored to
recognize his achievements in aviation safety."
Dr. Demuren, in his role as DGCA, campaigned to bring best
practices and global standards to Nigeria, and introduced new
safety regulations in compliance with the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO), and Nigeria successfully completed
the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit in 2006. Recently,
Nigeria's aviation regulatory organization was awarded the Category
1 status by the FAA.
Dr. Demuren has spread his efforts to the rest of Africa as well,
leading the charge to remove dangerous and illegal aircraft,
unqualified crews and operations under flags of convenience. He
also encourages other African airlines to meet International Air
Transport Association's operational safety audit standards, and he
is working to adopt and implement the ICAO Global Aviation Safety
Roadmap in Africa, FSF says, noting that the award, given annually
in recognition of excellence in aviation safety leadership, was
presented to Dr. Demuren at the opening session of IASS 2010.
End